featuring Cordelia Black—a woman with secrets and a fierce love for her found family.
Her perfect life starts to crumble, and she’ll stop at nothing to keep the people she loves safe.
I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page—and there’s one detail left unresolved that has me dying for a sequel.

After finishing this book, I went hunting to find out if it had been listed as a dark comedy. I saw nothing to confirm that, but I swear there are some serious comedic timings happening in here. If they aren't on purpose...well....

Cordelia Black is a bad ass bitch. She has her entire life figured out, managed from her ice blonde roots to the tips of her Louboutins. She's the perfect pharmaceutical sales rep, beloved and devoted best friend and godmother. She has great style, great elocution, and she takes shit from no one.

She's also the perfect serial killer of monsters.

Well. She thinks she is, anyway.

Trigger warnings abound here, though there is nothing graphic, because the kinds of monsters Cordelia kills - well, they definitely deserve it, and the women and children of the world are better off because of her work.

One small glitch in her matrix leads to the absolute definition of chaos, and she's left scrambling to get everything neatly back on track and keep her perfect world moving on.

Around the halfway mark, I buckawked out loud with laughter at the absolute ridiculousness that was her carefully laid plans utterly falling apart. My coworker asked, so I gave him a rapid fire explanation of all of her unfortunate events, and his jaw dropped with laughter.

I saw a review complaining that Cordelia swears she's on top of everything but makes a lot of stupid mistakes. But I don't think that's all that true. She's very rigid in her system, and the second one part of it had issues, her brain stopped autocorrecting and things....slipped.

Have we not all been there? This is why I would be a terrible serial killer. Officer.

I really enjoyed this. But I do think it needs a "dark humor" tag added to it.

I absolutely loved this one! It was addicting and I could not put it down and I did not want to put it down.

Just behind on my reviews so getting everything updated but,
I adored this book, and found the storyline really interesting and it kept me reading and interested, I look forward to reading more from this author

This was so fun and binge-worthy! It was a good mix of drama and suspense. There was some repetitiveness to the story I didn’t love, and some contradictions such as Cordelia being so meticulous but totally messing up with the kitty litter vs ice. overall I was still a fan! 3.5

I would like to start off by thanking netgalley for the arc of this book.

There is nothing I love more than a powerful tough woman who fights the good fight. That is exactly what Cordelia Black does. By day she is a pharmaceutical representative and by night she takes care of bad guys. They all had it coming. That is what Cordelia Black will always say no matter what. When her best friend who is her chosen family, starts dating someone who Cordelia thinks is a bad guy tensions start to flare. She starts to find flaws in her perfectly designed system, and soon enough she is coming face to face with her decisions that she made before. She has to come to grips with what she did to all the men before.


I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it a thousand times over.

Usually, I’m all in when it comes to stories about female vigilante killers. They Never Learn by Layne Fargo is a great example of how powerful that trope can be. Unfortunately, This Girl’s a Killer is not. Cordelia, the protagonist, was extremely unlikeable and came across as much younger than her stated age. The writing felt weak, and the plot was messy, which only added to my frustration. I wouldn’t recommend this one, and I don’t plan on picking up anything else by this author.

Can I just say that you don’t need many friends in this life, that you only need the ones who truly matter? And I think Cordelia Black belongs to the latter category. I need a friend like her in my life. Thank heavens for allowing me to encounter This Girl’s a Killer in Netgalley. It’s just what I need after what’s been happening in my country right now, what with all the heinous crimes happening. You just want someone who can make a difference.

Cordelia Black, our heroine or anti-heroine whichever you want to look at it, is a sassy, independent, fiercely loyal friend, and a badass killer. A girl on a mission, nothing and no one can stop Cordelia from exacting punishment on those she thinks deserve it. Because why not? The system is no longer working for the very people it should serve. And thus, our heroine, Cordelia, was borne to rid the world of people who has no right to exist.

Something might be wrong in my moral perspective, but Cordelia Black’s plight had resonated with me. This might be me justifying her actions as right but I can understand where she’s coming from, why she has trodden down the path of being a killer. She’s a victim of a broken system herself so why not handle things in her own murderous ways? As they always say, if you want things to change, have the guts to do it yourself. And Cordelia did it. She’s done being voiceless and abused. It’s time to save her former self and the other victims as well.

A lot of people may never be ok with how Cordelia do things her way but for some reason, I found myself cheering for her whenever her hunts are successful. It’s prolly unhinged but I cannot blame Cordelia. It’s not as if This Girl’s A Killer existed to be philosophical and preachy about moral values. It’s all about a woman fighting back and coping with her trauma in the only way she knew how. And it’s told in a sassy, snarky, and humorous (I know right?) narrative. I did expect that I’d read something dark but kudos to the author that despite the heavy and dark theme this book have, Emma Wells managed to make it salacious and funny amidst a background of rotting and dismembered corpses. It’s maddeningly crazy that you cannot help questioning yourself whether the book is subtly turning a part of you into a Cordelia Black. Heh.

With a completely deranged and bloodthirsty character in a Louis Vuitton ensemble and a ghastly amusing plot, all I can say is that This Girl’s a Killer is one for keeps. It’s grisly entertaining and heartachingly painful but something that will stay with you for a long time. I cannot recommend it enough.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very different book than what I expected, but I really did enjoy it. I loved how Cordelia took care of monstrous and predatory men. I really enjoyed her wit and how she planned everything out and was able to get away with her vigilante justice. I really enjoyed the ending and was pleasantly surprised by this book.

I wanted to love this book so badly, but I could never really get into it. I had a hard time understanding why Cordelia was doing what she was doing, other than out of pure anger toward the patriarchy. I wish he had gotten to know her past a little better because maybe it would help me understand her more. The relationships between Cordelia, her bestie, and her bestie's daughter were cute, though!

"This Girl's a Killer" by Emma C. Wells is a gripping thriller introducing Cordelia Black, a pharmaceutical sales rep by day and a vigilante targeting predatory men by night. Set in Baton Rouge, the novel combines dark humor with suspense as Cordelia navigates the challenges of her double life. Wells crafts a complex protagonist whose actions provoke both empathy and moral contemplation. While some readers noted occasional pacing issues, the book's engaging plot and sharp writing make it a standout in the genre.

I really enjoyed this book (who doesn't like a good vigilante?). It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, because the writing is great and the story is solid. I will say that it took me some time to get into it, but I feel that it was worth it in the end. A very good and interesting read!

This reminded me of a female version of Dexter.
Our main character has some issues going on in her life and it just seems to spiral downward from the get-go. Sadly, she can handle it, but we see her stress and stress over what to do. Her main job is as a pharmacy rep who on the side ends up ridding the world of those that no longer deserve to be here. She sees something in their eyes and once she does she knows they aren't good. Then throw in her best friend who seems to fall in love with anyone who shows her a spark of interest. Cordelia knows something is wrong with Simon but she can't figure it out. So it is her mission to figure it out while dealing with her job, and possibly being in a relationship.
Our main character had an interesting background, but we didn't get much of it. I felt that would have helped us understand why she is the way she is. So that fell flat. I also felt she kept repeating a lot of things that did not need repeating.
There is some humor so that helps with the thriller part of the story. I also really liked the cleanup/disposal of the bodies never once thought to do it that way so that was very interesting. The ending I felt left us enough to maybe there could be a second book. However, I think I would bypass it unless the author does a better job of not repeating and making her character not annoying.

Pharmaceutical rep Cordelia reverse Me-Too's (aka kills terrible men) her way through town in this book that's perfect for fans of Dexter, Joe Goldberg, Kitty Collins and other "likable" serial killers, darkly comedic thrillers, and feminist rage. If you can't wait to read a thriller and internally shout: "Good for you, girl", then this is the book for you.

Tropes:
- Female rage
- Morally gray characters
- Found family

I enjoyed the dark humor in this book, and Cordelia as a character. There were several repetitive beats, however, which hampered my enjoyment of this feminist thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Emma C. Wells for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

🔪 For my friends who are okay with a lightweight story about a designer-obsessed serial killer.

THIS GIRL’S A KILLER by Emma C. Wells

Thanks, Poisoned Pen Press, for the review copy via NetGalley.

Sadly, this one didn’t work for me, though I had high hopes. A Louisiana-based pharmaceutical rep who kills predators and gets away with it? Sounds good! A deep friendship with a bestie and her sarcastic spitfire of a daughter (which was giving me Captain Marvel/Maria & Monica Rambeau vibes)? More of that, please!

But alas. Alas, alas, alas. That’s where the fun ended. Cordelia wasn’t likable, there was too much repetition, and…if I say it felt unrealistic, are you going to come at me? You know what I mean. I expect a certain amount of credibility from crime scenes and successful cleanups after my extensive education at the hands of Bones, CSI, and other forensic TV shows (😉). My “Suspension of Disbelief” button is HUGE when it comes to fiction, but I can’t tolerate a killer bringing home buckets of blood to paint with. I just can’t.

That said, after reading other reviews, I am definitely in the minority here, so this could easily be a case of “it’s not you, it’s me.” This was a debut novel, and it was good enough that I would definitely pick up her next one.

I thought this book was just okay. Unfortunately, I find the premise of the book to be overdone (woman kills bad men who escape being held accountable) and the writing felt very heavy handed.

Enjoyable read! By day, Cordelia is a pharmaceutical rep. She's been known to fudge a little on her reports with help from a friendly doctor. This sets the stage for her evening hours occupation as a serial killer. She knows how to get the job done without betraying her identity, methods and means. She's not always likeable...it's hard to like someone who leaves their victims iced down in the bathtub a wee bit too long and then leaves body parts in the kitchen refrigerator freezer. She's a good gal, but she feels completely fine about offing men who just don't do her or her friends right. Not as funny as I thought it would be. But, it's not intended to be funny. You will love it! My thanks to Emma C. Wells (are you related to Orson Wells??), Poisoned Pen Press and Net Galley for the ARC.

A gripping and entertaining read. A serial killer that is likeable? Yes please.
Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Vigilante men murderer?!?! Yes! Sign me up right now. This is right up my alley and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Cordelia was just.... Chefs Kiss! I absolutely loved her and her storyline. I wanted more, need more. Highly recommend.

I thought this book was going to be a fun and thrilling read but it was not for me. It dragged and while the beginning was fun, it quickly started to drag for me. While this book wasn’t for me, I would like to read a different book from this author.